


low lights can’t dull your shine

by jjokkiri



Category: SEONGRI (Musician), UP10TION
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, First Meetings, I have no excuses, Love at First Sight, M/M, Mentions of alcohol, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:02:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26647201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jjokkiri/pseuds/jjokkiri
Summary: Seongri’s co-workers rope him into coming to a group date with them. Things go better than expected.
Relationships: Kim Seongri/Seon Yein | Sunyoul
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	low lights can’t dull your shine

**Author's Note:**

> Please do not ask me to justify this because I cannot.

There are a lot of things that can completely blindside a person—shock them with the magnitude of an electric current. There are a lot of things that are so unexpected that it leaves hearts pulsing with shock. Surprise can be fatal. Surprise can be enough to knock someone off their feet and take a life.

But this isn’t nearly as dramatic, really.

It’s just that Seongri honestly wasn’t sure what he was expecting when Daehyeon slinked into his cubicle at the end of the night like an unassuming molerat and said, with all the seriousness in the world, _“Hyung, I need you to go somewhere with me tonight.”_

He hadn’t left Seongri much of a choice because it’s hard to say _‘no’_ to Daehyeon when he looks so serious. It’s hard to say _‘no’_ to Daehyeon in general, but it’s especially hard to say _‘no’_ when Seongri knows that he is supposed to be a reliable team leader who helps his team. And as both Daehyeon’s team lead and a good friend, helping Daehyeon was part of his job, whether he’s on the clock or not.

Seongri wasn’t sure what he was expecting. But, the bottom line was that no matter what he expected, he doesn’t think there is a lifetime parallel to their own where he could have concluded that Daehyeon wanted him to come with him to a group date at a karaoke bar.

“This is what you needed me to come to?” Seongri looks at Daehyeon, half-stunned out of his mind. He’s still in his work clothes and he isn’t sure that he’s willing to do this.

Daehyeon offers him a weak smile.

“Yeah,” he says. He has the decency to look a little flustered that he dragged Seongri to the karaoke bar. Still, he continues, “The other guys said you looked like you were stressed out and needed a break.”

“This is your definition of a break?” Seongri glances up doubtfully at the neon sign outside the establishment. Daehyeon shrugs at him.

“It’s not _my_ definition,” he says. If Seongri didn’t know any better, he might think that he sounds slightly offended. “The other guys in the office came up with the idea, they just told me to get you because they said you don’t say _‘no’_ to me.”

Seongri blinks. _His kindness has been used against him._

“I think I shouldn’t be here,” Seongri says, gingerly. He presses his lips into a thin line and tugs at the collar of his crisp shirt, worrying that he isn’t presentable enough to be in front of a crowd. He tries to make excuses to leave, “I have some stuff to do at home and I’m still in my work clothes.”

Daehyeon frowns at him. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his slacks and rocks back on his heels, nonchalantly. “I’m in my work clothes, too.”

“You look more presentable than I do,” Seongri says, a matter of fact.

“You look _dashing_ , hyung,” Daehyeon promises. He reaches out to straighten Seongri’s tie. “Besides, you’re already here. You should relax a little, hyung. It’s Friday night.”

It’s surprisingly convincing.

Group dates have never been his kind of thing, but Seongri allows Daehyeon to drag him into the establishment to meet up with their coworkers and a bunch of strangers.

It can’t hurt.

* * *

It can’t hurt because group dates aren’t _actually_ supposed to have every person come out with a date to hang on. Seongri is okay with it if he isn’t one of the people who leave the karaoke bar without someone to hang off his arm, infatuated with him for the night.

After all, this was a last-minute plan. He didn’t mean to come—he wouldn’t have come if it weren’t for Daehyeon’s pleading eyes—and he thinks, _it would suck for someone else if their intended match was snatched away from them._

Seongri doesn’t actually think it’ll happen, though. He isn’t drawing any attention to himself, after all.

He is just sitting in the corner by himself, Daehyeon having left him to get drinks.

He doesn’t know _what_ Daehyeon plans to get for them, but if it’s alcohol, he really hopes that Daehyeon has decent plans to get home for the night. Seongri swallows his burning sense of responsibility and leans back in his seat in the corner of the room, though.

_Daehyeon can be trusted._

All alone, waiting for Daehyeon to come back, Seongri’s eyes wander the room.

It doesn’t take long for something to catch his eye. _For someone to catch his eye._

Seongri isn’t crazy enough to believe in love at first sight, but when he catches the eyes of a smiling boy under the dim lights, his heart foolishly stutters in his chest. His eyes practically twinkle under his light pink fringe. He isn’t looking at Seongri—he’s looking at his friend, laughing at something he says—but in a blink of an eye, he has Seongri’s full attention.

He thinks, _Oh._

* * *

“Hyung, who are you looking at?” Daehyeon follows his gaze as he places a beer in front of him. Daehyeon looks back at Seongri and then follows his gaze again. He looks at him, “Yein hyung?”

“Who?” Seongri blinks.

Daehyeon gestures to the pink-haired boy sitting half a room away from them. Seongri has the decency to look away in case Yein looks in their direction, feeling Seongri’s eyes on him.

Daehyeon says, “The guy sitting over there with the pink hair.” Daehyeon shrugs, “He’s always here with his friends around this time every week. He sings really well, so his friends always drag him to these. I’ve never seen him go home with anyone, though. He always hangs out with the people he came with.”

_Bingo._

Seongri pretends he doesn’t have any real interest in Daehyeon’s words. He doesn’t know why Daehyeon feels the need to tell him all this when he hasn’t even confirmed that he’s staring at Yein.

Seongri swallows, “Um, no, I was just looking around.”

Daehyeon chuckles and tilts a beer to Seongri, offering the drink. Seongri takes it. Daehyeon leans back against the counter behind them and hums.

“I don’t know, hyung,” he says. He cracks open the other bottle and takes a swig of the beer. He purses his lips, thoughtfully, “You’ve been looking around that area for a really long time, now. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’ve fallen in love with Yein hyung.”

Seongri laughs. He can hear how awkward the laugh sounds falling from his lips. He can feel his cheeks flushing though because he knows that he’s been staring.

He hopes that, under the dim lights, Daehyeon can’t tell.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

* * *

He gets coaxed into singing four consecutive songs, all of them pushed into the machine by Daehyeon and their small army of coworkers who _insist_ he’s an amazing vocalist. Three shots and a beer in, Seongri doesn’t have the energy or rationality to argue with them.

Seongri does his best to swallow his nerves when passing the microphone off to the next person. He barely manages to register who he gives the microphone to because he’s too focused on making his approach feel natural. As soon as the weight of the microphone is off his fingers, Seongri tries to shrug off the weight on his shoulders. He’s nervous.

He can feel the nerves thrumming through his veins, almost louder than the pulse of intoxication.

He isn’t drunk enough to make a fool of himself in front of a cute boy, but it’s enough to make him feel less guarded. He wouldn’t have the guts to speak to a cute boy if he were sober.

It seemed Daehyeon was perfectly aware of that.

So, with the help of alcohol, Daehyeon convinced him that his best move would be to _talk_ to the cute boy (“He won’t know that you think he’s cute if you don’t tell him,” Daehyeon said, “you should just go talk to him. Maybe he’ll think that you’re cute, too”).

He finds his chance when he tries to find a seat after singing. There is an open space on the sofa next to the pretty boy. Yein is nursing a clear plastic cup of soda in his hands and he’s sipping out of a straw, swaying to the beat of the song blasting from the speakers. It’s cute.

Seongri takes a deep breath and makes a beeline for the empty spot next to Yein.

As if he isn’t a practical stranger, Yein shifts on the sofa to make room for him when Seongri approaches him. Seongri inhales sharply, nervously, before he sits down next to the other man. He can feel his heart pounding in his chest. His palms feel sweaty and he thinks he can’t do this.

But it’s too late to back out. He can see Daehyeon staring at him from the other side of the room like a hawk. He knows it’s too late for him to back out. If he got up from his spot next to Yein and returned to Daehyeon’s side, he would never hear the end of Daehyeon’s retelling of his cowardice.

(He doesn’t think he can withstand hearing Daehyeon groan to their friends with a dramatic story about how _‘Seongri hyung can’t flirt with boys, he’s too afraid.’_ He would never live it down.)

He clears his throat. It feels awkward.

He doesn’t know how to get a cute boy’s attention.

“You’re Yein, right?” Seongri looks at him cautiously, as if he is afraid that he has gotten his name wrong (but he knows he isn’t wrong because he has been hearing his name all night).

At the sound of his name being called, Yein turns to look at him, his eyes practically sparkling. He looks so cute when he peers up at him, straw still in his mouth. It’s even cuter, the way that he instinctively lowers the drink for the sake of manners, gasping in soft surprise when he realizes that he’s still holding his drink while speaking to someone.

Seongri feels taken aback for a second. He takes a moment to gather himself. His heart stutters.

“That’s me,” Yein says. He smiles at him. It almost looks shy. Seongri feels his heart skip a beat. Yein’s eyes brighten and he vaguely gestures to the tiny stage in the room. He says, “You sing very well.”

Seongri flushes. “Thank you.”

He thinks he feels flustered because Daehyeon mentioned to him that Yein sings well. And while he hasn’t performed anything all night, Seongri believes it. Yein sounds like an angel when he speaks. He thinks that he has reason to believe that it translates into singing, too. _And taking compliments from an angel?_ It’s hard.

Yein takes a sip of his drink, thinking. Then, he gasps softly and turns to look at Seongri. His eyes are so bright that Seongri feels like he’s glittering. Yein beams at him.

He excitedly reaches for Seongri’s hands, holding onto them. Seongri almost flinches at the sudden touch.

He says, “We should sing something together!”

Yein doesn’t even know his name yet, but he’s looking at him with so much admiration in his eyes that Seongri feels like he’s standing on the edge of a dangerous cliff. He feels like he can’t take a step back, but stepping forward only means he’ll fall right into this pretty boy’s arms.

Seongri feels like he’s spiralling into a deep pit of feelings he can’t escape. It’s _probably_ the alcohol.

Regardless of what it is, though, he doesn’t have it in him to say _‘no’_ to Yein.

* * *

It turns out that looking into Yein’s eyes is dangerous.

It turns out that when Yein sings, he has a habit of staring into his partner’s eyes—tender and sweet. And Seongri was right, it turns out that Yein sings like an angel. _An angel that Seongri simply can’t take his eyes off._

When they’re singing together, it feels like they’re in their own world.

And it turns out that, for the first time, Seongri thinks that he _might_ just be crazy enough to believe in love at first sight.

* * *

Everything good has to come to an end at some point.

For them, their night ends when Yein’s roommate drunkenly clings to his arm and whines about how he _needs_ to go home (“Hwanhee, please be patient, I’m talking to someone,” Yein tells him, frowning as he gently sits his friend up properly beside him). And for a second, Seongri’s heart drops in his chest because he thinks, ‘ _Ah, maybe this is why Yein never goes home with someone else.’_

Yein flashes him an apologetic smile, though.

“I’m sorry,” Yein says. He explains, “Hwanhee always gets like this because his boyfriend always makes him drink too much at these places. I always have to take him home because he never has a key.”

_Oh._

Seongri scratches the back of his neck. He glances around the room.

“I was about to head out, too,” he lies. He wasn’t, but it doesn’t feel bad to leave when he knows that the reason he was staying is leaving. _Daehyeon won’t mind him leaving._

He glances at the way Hwanhee has snuggled into Yein’s arms, already half asleep. Suddenly, he feels a little worried that Yein might not be able to drag a drunk man home alone.

Without thinking, he asks, “Do you mind if I walk you guys to the door?”

Yein beams. He tilts his head and his pink fringe falls into his eyes endearingly. Seongri feels a strange twitch in his fingers that tells him to brush it away to sate the selfish need to look at Yein’s eyes.

Yein says, “Of course not! Let’s go together.”

* * *

It’s a short distance to the door and Yein looks too used to carrying Hwanhee home. It’s amusing.

But, it’s a short distance and it’s too soon before Seongri has to say goodbye to the pretty, pink-haired man and his friend. It’s too soon before he has to bid a dreamlike night farewell.

He briefly considers that Daehyeon would try to coax him into coming again. He briefly thinks that _maybe_ he could see Yein again if he goes to the next group date. But that’s banking on chance and he doesn’t think he wants to do that when it was pure luck that he ran into Yein tonight.

Something jolts in his mind when Yein turns away from him to walk Hwanhee home.

“Yein, wait!” Seongri whirls around with his phone in his hand.

The pink-haired man startles. He turns to look at him with wide eyes.

Seongri belatedly realizes that he was too loud. He doesn’t have the self-consciousness to feel embarrassed—not when his mind is set on _one_ thing.

“What is it?” Yein blinks at him, pretty eyes staring at Seongri. His footsteps fall to a stop in front of Yein and he tries his best to keep his eyes off of the drunken boy hanging off Yein’s arm.

Seongri swallows his nerves, resisting the urge to nervously wring his hands. _He’s better than this._

“What are you doing next Friday night?” Seongri asks.

Yein’s eyes brighten.

“I didn’t have any plans,” he replies. There’s a hopeful smile on his lips.

It feels like an invitation. Seongri thinks this might be okay.

“Would… you like to make some plans?” he asks. Then, for good measure, he adds, “With me?”

Yein’s eyes glitter. It’s the same look Seongri saw when he caught sight of the pretty boy from halfway across the room. It’s the same look that had his heart skipping a beat, dangerous enough to send him pushing away everything he was used to for a chance with a pretty, pink-haired man.

“Of course,” he says, “Let me just get your number.”

Yein shifts Hwanhee on his shoulder and fumbles for his phone.

Seongri steps forward awkwardly, reacting to his instinct to help.

“Here,” he murmurs, “I got him.”

As soon as he says it, Hwanhee stumbles and quickly falls onto Seongri’s arm. He’s taken by surprise. His eyes widen.

Yein giggles behind his hand. He still has an arm around Hwanhee, but his hand is free to grab his phone. The ridiculousness of the situation makes him chuckle. He looks away, his free hand covering his mouth.

“I’m so sorry about him,” Yein apologizes. The laughter is clear in his voice, though. Seongri decides he likes it. “We won’t have him between us next time.”

_Us. Next time._

Seongri’s heart flutters in his chest. That’s the plan, but from Yein’s lips, the implication that they’ll be alone the next time they see one another sounds different. _Reassuring._

He thinks he might like this a lot more than he thought.

**Author's Note:**

> [twt](https://twitter.com/yuseokki) ♡  
> stream up10tion's [light](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkHSLl-Q-y8&ab_channel=TOPMEDIA). the album itself slaps, too.


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